When I was in high school (mini skirt days) I can remember my dad asking me to put my arms at my sides and if my fingertips were below my hemline, I had to go change my dress. TOO skimpy and not appropriate! I had similar conversations with my daughters about booty shorts, crop tops and low necklines. Well — it’s time we talked about some other skimpy dressing we are seeing all too much of….homes whose staging is skimpy to the point of distraction. (Just like those tiny mini skirts!)
The purpose of staging is to showcase a home, highlighting the architectural features AND to create a scene showing a desirable lifestyle to prospective buyers.
If the only purpose of staging was to show room sizes we could bring in cardboard sofas and dining tables and save lots of $$! Home buying, however, is not just a logical decision, but also a highly emotional one. When home buying, we all want to find one that special home to fall in love with. Each photo tells a story of the potential lifestyle this home offers. A few pieces awkwardly placed, small scale or cheap furniture does not help sell a home. Staging that is meager can draw attention to the staging and undermine the purpose of staging.
A formal dining room deserves a lovely large dining room table, not a small dinette table. It is hard for buyers to visualize hosting a wonderful family dinner when the room is not staged to highlight this purpose. A couple chairs and small rug in a living room room doesn’t show off the room size, show conversation or how to ideally place furniture. This scanty type of staging is wasted marketing $$.
These staging examples below are inexpensive to provide but are distracting and not enhancing the listing photos.
A love seat or two chairs in the living room doesn’t adequately showcase most rooms — it looks awkward and falls short on highlighting the room size. TOO SKIMPY! This type of staging should never be used!
On occasion, we get asked to reduce costs or do lighter staging and understand budget constraints. To create a winning look, we usually recommend staging fewer rooms appropriately, keeping the furniture scale and placement in mind.
Below is an example of staging we did recently on a restricted budget. These rooms both had great architectural focal points to be highlighted, however, their off-center placement made the rooms challenging to see ideal furniture layouts when vacant. We used less decor with some other money saving ideas – the seller and agent were overjoyed with the results (and it had multiple quick offers too)! The staging is appropriate to scale, shows conversation and the room purposes well.
BEFORE hiring a staging company, make sure they have the expertise and inventory to showcase your rooms correctly. Is the furniture planned to scale and of the quality that will give that all important “wow” first impression?
You do not want skimpy staging that is a misrepresentation of your listing…buyers want to fall in love with your home – not be distracted by the contents. Homes look better with “clothing” that fits! Don’t let skimpy staging be a negative distraction in your home!
Creative Concepts-Home Staging and Contracting has a vast inventory to showcase your home beautifully and offers different staging packages to meet your budget needs. stagingoregon@gmail.com 503-881-0886
