I absolutely recommend that every real estate agent take the StagedHomes.com Staging Class. I was lucky to have Barb Swartz herself teaching my class, and she's a hoot.
What you learn is that most people have just about everything you need right there in the home. They just have the things in the wrong places, sometimes in the cupboards or in the China Closet. Sometimes a picture looks better somewhere else.
Walk through the home like a buyer. Take photos and move the very best things that the owner has so that they show when you are walking around, rather than when you are sitting in, the room. It truly does make a difference. I listed a home that had been on market for six weeks. I moved some of their things around, took new photos and had two offers within 5 days.
Going to the expense of full staging...I really think the price is often prohibitive to pay an actual stager to come in with furntiure. But every agent should have staging skills and offer this service to their seller clients. Take a day or two before the property goes on market and actually help the seller stage the home. Many good listing agents do this for their clients. Don't just tell them what to do and then complain when they don't. Reach up, grab that picture and move it yourself. Roll your sleeves up and get it done.
That is the biggest lesson of the class. Yes, you CAN touch their stuff and yes they are happy when the house looks great when you are done. I find it goes faster if you send the owners away, that's what they do in the class. It's a lot harder to touch everything in someone else's house while they are standing there watching you and asking questions.
If the house is already in good shape, it takes 8-10 hours. If it really needs help, it could take as long as a week. But don't list a home until you have done everything you can to put it in top showing condition. People can usually keep it that way once you do it, but many can't see their home with the objective eye. So take notes or photos at other great looking properties and keep a supply of staging things. You can move them from one property to another, so the initial expense is well worth it. Your listings will sell faster, and that alone is worth the expense.
I brought out a product my Mom told me about many years ago, when staging this home. It's called "Old English furniture polish, and the cleaners used to use it on the desks back in the 70s when I worked at the bank.
Be carful with it as it could stain your clothes and your rugs. It is a very dark brown furniture polish in a liquid, not a spray can. I like to use felt clothes that you get from Michael's or any craft store, because the slightly rough surface helps clean and get into cracks and worn spots. It really brings new life to old woods and fills in white water stain and scratch marks nicely. (felt is also great for removing your finger nail polish).
I also pulled all of the handles off of the cabinets (they were 80s Mediteranean style) and replaced them with an updated brushed chrome/pewter finish handle. They run about $2.20 apiece at Lowes or Home Depot. Wetting down the countertops for the photo is a trick many use. I didn't here because I work so slowly sometimes, adding a little color over the refrigerator and tweaking the items on the shelf, that the counter usually dries by the time I take the photo.
You might notice that the items I used here are not the typical "Pottery Barn" items you see in my newer townhome photos of the past with regard to staging. This home is a brick tudor in Ballard, so I purchased most of these items at the Antique store here in Kirkland to add color, but of an older time. The antique rounded blue glass candle holders over the refrigerator came in a set of four, and add just a touch of color as you enter the kithen from the living room. Again I used no curtain on the side window next to the front counter, as the greenery of outside adds an open feeling.
And I just noticed where that water bottle went that I couldn't find when I left the Open House on Sunday. It's in that frosted glass door cabinet in the picture below in the previous post.
Staging is a fun and pleasant experience. It really fills the soul with "Leave a Place Better Than You Found It".
When you stage a kitchen, you want it to look clean and bright and pleasant. Think of it like you are creating an "aura" or a happy glow. A pleasant place to whip up some cocktails and snacks for guests, while drinking a glass of Julia Child sherry.
I use some "foodstuffs" like a bottle of olives or herb filled oils. I found some great colored metal old ice cream shop pieces at Sur Le Table which are currently on sale at half price. Always try to put something bright and colorful as high up as you can over the cabinets. It raises the eye up and gives the feeling of spaciousness and height.
Sometimes I take the curtain off, as in the window you see here where the tree out front adds to the ambiance of the space. The window you can't see on the left has an open lace curtain I used as a backdrop for some candles.
Always walk through the house when you are finished staging. Walk out of the room and back into the room from every doorway. Look into the room from other places in the home, from which it is visible. Nudge and tweak and fine tune until you see only pleasant things and no negatives from every angle. Don't stare at the room from within it. Walk quickly through it from every angle. Staring at it from inside the room is *decorating*, walking through it quickly from every angle is *staging*.
Staging your home before putting it on the market is simply one of the steps in "Positioning Your Home to Sell".
I recently acquired my Accredited Staging Professional designation, but frankly, staging homes before putting the house on the market is not a new concept. There are key areas of the home on which people base their buying decision. First is curb appeal. If they don't want to come in the house, it doesn't matter what you do with the inside of it. The entire first floor is very important as this is where the buyer will view enternaining and impressing their friends. The master suite including the bath, is next in line.
For many years, new home builders have staged their model homes with great success. Now the resale market is better able to compete with New Construction by using the same strategy of giving the buyer a better idea of what the house or condo can look like in its best condition. If you have ever been to a New Construction Model Home, you know what staging is. Your real estate professional should assist you in making your house look THAT good, or as close to that as possible, especially the first 10 days it is on market.
All homes sell. But the staged home will sell faster and at a higher price.
Feb. 17, 2006 - Staging A Home for Sale from Start to Finish
Last night I went to to a townhome that I will be listing for sale in the next two to four weeks at about $350,000. Aside from talking about price and marketing strategy, I started "staging the home" in my head and taking notes.
Some agents give the owners a list of things to do. I can't seem to do that, because I have a "vision" or "an eye" for things that are easier for me to just do, than to explain. Also, I try something in one place, step back and look at it, and change my mind.
I thought I would try to give a blow by blow of my thought process last night to see if it might help you stage your home.
Be a buyer. Go out front and start there. This townhome had a front step, a traditional door and a two car garage. I like to put a wreath on a traditional door. Something with Spring flowers. Homes do sell better in the Spring...it isn't spring? Who said. Put a big wreath of spring flowers on the front door. If it's a wide "stoop", like this one, put a potted tall but narrow evergreen on each side of the front door.
Like most townhomes with attached garages, there is a long staircase in front of you as soon as you open the door. Put something dramatic at the top of the staircase. In this case, we will be moving a beautiful tall piece there, that is now somewhere else in the house, with a big floral arrangement on top. That piece is currently blocking the entry to the main area. Keep your entry and exit ways wide and uncluttered.
The kitchen is easy. Clean, clean and clean again! Attractive things on top of the cabinets to draw the eye up. I like big bottles of peppers, olives, cherries and other foodstuffs. This way the color at the top is natural.
Keep colors coordinated from kitchen to living room to dining room. I am taking everything they own away that doesn't coordinate with the sofas and bringing in place settings, over the window froo-froos and a lace topper for the dining room.
I never take "before and after" pictures. I think it is insulting to show peoples homes "before", as if the way they lived before I arrived was "awful". But I will put up some photos after it is staged.
It is a three year new townhome, so I know it will look really good. We just have to take away the "lived in" look and transform it into a "model home". Or as close to that as possilble.
Stay tuned for photos. Will be two weeks to a month.
Feb. 15, 2006 - Barb Schwarz - Home Staging - New Book
I just orded a couple of copies of Barb Schwarz new book:
"Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money"
I am an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) and am so glad that I took the course when I did, as I was very lucky to have Barb Schwarz as the teacher. I'm sure, now that Barb and HomeStaging.com is so nationally famous, that many ASPs are being taught by other people. I'm sure that's great too, but I am glad to have had Barb as my teacher.
Here's what Barb Schwarz had to say about her new book:
"Staging is a system used to prepare homes for sale. It is proven to help properties sell faster and for more money. Staging is not redecorating; rather it is a series of researched and proven techniques developed by the author to make a home appeal more to a buyer rather than its current owner. Like a personal makeover, Staging plays up a homes strong points and minimizes its weaknesses. This book will offer clear directions for home sellers to utilize such as evaluating a homes interior and exterior appearance, assessing the home against a nine-page checklist of pre-set Staging guidelines, and utilizing proven techniques to Stage for maximize sales appeal."
I will report back on whether or not Barb Schwarz new book has anything new to say about Staging Your Home, after I read it.
Keep your staging simple. I have a glass table and these chairs in burgundy, blue and yellow. Glass tables work well because you see through them, and they can expand the space when square footage is at a minimum. The table is light and easy to transport. I love this table and own two of them, as it has a round plant holder in the center underneath. Cheap and easy from Levitz in Bellevue.
Table settings: placemats, napkins, napkin rings and glassware are quick and easy. I buy mine from Sur la Table in Kirkland. I hit the clearance rack first. I use lots of wine bottles (see fireplace). We were taught at staging class not to put utensils out in the place settings, so I do not, but I'm not sure I agree. Apparently it's a safety issue.
This home was occupied. We moved a lot of things out into storage and brought in some simple pieces and coordinated all of the bedspreads and shower curtains and towels, all of which I purchased for this property at Linens and Things. I went to the property with the cleaning people and staged while they cleaned. It only took about 3 hours, once I was finished with conceptualizing the finished look that I wanted.
Often I can use much of the owner's things. Just move things around to emphasize or deemphasize certain features of the home. Do NOT conceal defects...THAT is not staging. Also, do not stage a dirty or smelly property. Clean it first. I know these last two comments seem obvious, but I have seen it all. Clean it and get rid of the pet or cigarette odors before you stage.
ARDELL
DellaLoggia
On Seattle Real Estate including Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond, Green Lake and most areas around Lake Washington North of Downtown Seattle.
Phone: 206-910-1000 - Mailto:Ardell@RainCityGuide.com
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