When it comes to giving you home staging tips, it’s hard to know who to trust. Your spouse, your mother, your best friend from college—they love you, but they’re all liars.
Because of course they’re going to lie and tell you how great your home staging looks! After all, they don’t want to hurt your feelings. They know how hard you worked. You know who’s not lying? A potential lead scrolling through Zillow in bed with a cup of tea.
“Ugh! What on earth was that real estate agent THINKING?”
Don’t believe the liars. Instead, read our list of home staging tips from top-producing agents and the 21 deal-killing home staging mistakes to avoid:
1. Not Creating a Virtual Tour of Your Newly Staged Listing
The only thing worse than having your friends lie about how much they like your home staging is not showing off your hard work online. These days, that means virtual tours. The only problem is that they can be very expensive.
How the Pros Do It
Luckily, you live in 2022 and competition means you no longer have to pay an arm and a leg for virtual tours. Using Asteroom, you can create professional-quality virtual tours for your freshly staged listing for a fraction of the cost of Matterport.
2. Staging With Furniture That Is Too Large for the Space
We asked Samantha Rose Frith of Warburg Realty in Manhattan for her home staging tips. While this tip is extremely important for square-footage-starved listings in Manhattan, it applies to any listing, regardless of size.
“Large sectionals are wonderful for lounging with friends and family, but if you’re staging a home to sell, they can eat up a lot of space—especially if they’re in dark colors. Think smaller couches with clean lines to open up the room, as we did by using a simple and neutral, modern couch. Here’s what it looked like after staging with a smaller couch:”
Not only did the space look and photograph better, it helped her close faster too:
“The listing had initially sat on the market for several months, but we received an offer within a week of staging and the unit sold.”
How the Pros Do It
When selecting furniture to stage your listing, think about how much visual space each piece will take up by considering both size and color. Unless you’re staging a dining room or small bedroom, make sure one piece does not dominate the space.
Free PDF Download: Top Home Staging Tips
3. Letting the Homeowner ‘Help’ With the Staging
Many agents, but especially new agents, have a hard time saying no to homeowners. After all, they worked hard to get the listing, so why risk upsetting the homeowner by shooting down their ideas? Simple. Shooting down their bad ideas is part of your fiduciary duty to the client.
How the Pros Do It
Experienced listings agents know how to let “creative” homeowners down gently. They acknowledge the creativity of their idea, but then calmly explain why it might actually do more harm than good.
[Related article: How to Get Listings: 18 Luxury Listing Agents Spill Their Secrets]
4. Empty Bed Frames or Cheap Linens
Ugly paint, ugly frame, ugly blinds, AND ugly linens—blah.
Even in some seven-figure-plus listings here in Manhattan, the word “bedroom” is often literal. It’s a room that can fit a bed and that’s about it.
Heck, even in a palatial 1,000-square-foot master suite, a king-sized bed will still take up space and there is no way to NOT have it as the focal point of the room.
That means cheap linens, pillows, or even worse, empty bed frames are a mortal sin against the gods of good taste.
How the Pros Do It
Air mattresses are incredibly inexpensive these days, so there is simply no excuse for an empty bed frame. While quality linens can be expensive, they might be a worthwhile investment.
5. Not Including a Pet in at Least One of Your Staged Photos
If you or your sellers are dog or cat lovers, then keeping your furry little friends out of your staged listing pictures can be a huge mistake. First of all, cute pet pictures are what the internet was designed for. Second, and more importantly, if you rope your seller’s pooch into the listing pictures, you can rest assured this photo will get shared on Facebook and Instagram.
You can then (tactfully) chime in and say how much fun you had shooting their little rascal when you were slaving away trying to make their home look awesome.
Photographing animals, especially restless dogs (is there any other kind?) can be a challenge without a high-quality DSLR camera and “fast” lens. All the more reason to hire a pro photographer for your listing photos!
6. Not Staging the Patio, Backyard, or Balcony
Think of all the buyers who really, really want usable outdoor space in their homes. People trading up from apartments, people moving from the city to the suburbs, and families with small children all place a premium on outdoor space. Here in Manhattan, outdoor spaces are rare and even more highly sought after.
How the Pros Do It
When you’re staging a listing, don’t forget to stage outdoor spaces like patios, backyards, or balconies. You don’t have to spend a ton of money here, just a few nice chairs, some plants, and a small table will do the trick.
7. Not Using Accent Walls
Just think how much nicer this space would look with an accent wall!
Considering how easy and affordable accent walls can be, it’s surprising how many stagers and real estate agents shy away from them. A well-thought-out accent wall can add some depth and drama to even the most boring room.
How the Pros Do It
If you want to try your hand at accent walls, think contrast. Dark greys, bright, energizing colors like Pantone’s Color of the Year Ultraviolet, or even removable wallpaper or graphics can go a long way to adding personality to your listing.
Need some accent wall inspiration? Check out the top ideas on Pinterest here.
Accent walls are an affordable way to add drama to any space.
Tell us about you so we know what to send.
8. Outdated Window Treatments
Just WOW. (Source: Renovetec)
After paint and lighting fixtures, nothing can kill a room’s vibe faster than ugly, outdated window treatments. While those vertical blinds may have cost your homeowner a pretty penny back in the ’90s, today they just look sad and dated.
The good news is that like lighting fixtures, good-looking window treatments are affordable, and you only need a few styles on hand to match any decor. In fact, a set of sheer white curtains and a set of heavy dark, velour panels should match pretty much anything.
Patterns should probably be avoided, though. There is no faster way to pick out a cheap window treatment than from a poorly designed pattern.
How the Pros Do It
Forget West Elm or Pottery Barn. You can get almost identical-looking drapes and curtain panels on Amazon for a fraction of the price. If you line the back with Velcro, you can use one 108-inch panel to fit any size window.
Gauzy sheer curtains, teak shutters, or heavy velour drapes? ANYTHING beats vertical blinds!
9. Trying to ‘Go Viral’ With Your Staging
Sure, there have been a handful of real estate agents who have managed to “go viral” after including quirky elements in their staging. Sounds great, right? Well, there are two huge problems with this: 1. Being funny is harder than it looks, and 2. Going viral is even harder. So if you’re not a comedian, chances are your “viral” stunt will just look weird.
How the Pros Do It
They don’t. No seriously. Highly successful listing agents tend to avoid marketing stunts when trying to help someone sell the most expensive asset they own. So save the funny gags and stunts for your real estate videos.
[Related article: 7 Hilarious Real Estate Videos You Need in Your Life Right Now]
10. Using Too Many Bold or Statement Pillows
Yikes! (Source: geekologie)
Like the gallery wall, having an assortment of boldly colored or patterned pillows is very on trend. There’s only one problem—well, OK, three problems:
- Nice pillows are $50 each and up.
- If they’re too bold, they will become a focal point.
- They’re very personal. Not everyone will respond to your taste.
While you may be tempted to splash out on a dozen high-end pillows for your home staging, this could be a mistake. After all, nice pillows are very expensive, and bold pillows might not work well with other bold pillows.
Since the idea here is to buy versatile decor, I would avoid boldly colored or patterned pillows. Instead, stick to complementary patterns and colors, or at most, buy a few bold pillows.
How the Pros Do It
Love mid-century modern but can’t justify West Elm or CB2? Target’s Project 62 has passable mid-century looking pillows for less than $20.
If you’re looking for more home staging tips on a budget, check out this handy guide over on the Homelight Blog.
11. Not Taking Pictures of the Listing Prestaging
A blank canvas is essential for virtual staging.
After the frenzy and stress of hiring a stager, coordinating with your owner, and lugging plants, pillows, and art all over the house, it can be easy to forget why you’re doing this.
For most listings, you’re staging for the photos you’re going to post on Zillow.
However, once you stage, it becomes very difficult and expensive to correct or restage a room virtually. For example, let’s say you staged a room as a home office, and a buyer kept wondering what it would look like as a bedroom.
How the Pros Do It
In order to stay flexible and become a hero to buyer’s agents, always have your photographer take pictures of the listing empty before you stage. If you don’t, your virtual stager will charge you an arm and a leg to digitally remove the furniture.
This way, you can virtually stage the same room in multiple different styles or for different uses. You could even try A/B testing the images on Facebook ads to see which one more buyers click on.
Here’s an example of how an empty room can be staged to look radically different from our friends over at Spotless Agency:
If they had to remove the furniture before staging, virtual staging would be far more expensive.
12. Not Knowing Your Audience
Is this the buyer your home staging attracts? (Source: Bored Panda)
If you want to write a blockbuster movie, a Grammy-winning album, or a killer marketing campaign, there is one rule above all others that determines success: Know Your Audience!
This rule applies to staging your listings as well. As a rule, you should be staging with your audience in mind. Think about what kind of leads might be attracted to the home, the area, or the price point you’re working with.
For example, if your listing is in a conservative community with a ton of senior citizens, a more traditional staging will get a much better response than a slick, modern one. Young hip area with lots of college students and young professionals? Minimal graphic art and mid-century furniture is a must.
Matching CB2 Go-cart desks and minimal art—I love it, but will your buyers?
How the Pros Do It
If you’re not sure about your audience, do some research on your farm area. Who lives there? What do they value?
13. ‘Gendered’ Bedrooms or Playrooms
If you decide to stage smaller bedrooms as children’s rooms, you need to be careful about “gendering” the rooms. Remember, the idea here is to create rooms that allow your buyers to dream about living in the home.
A lead with three young boys might have a hard time dreaming about putting them in rooms with pink walls and pom poms.
How the Pros Do It
Instead, try to create inclusive children’s bedrooms that reflect the style of the rest of the home. If you’re staging a modern home, a minimal rocking horse, some stuffed animals, and a bunk bed will work.
(Source: Architectural Digest)
14. Not Having a Theme for Each Room
What’s going on in here? Living room? Play room? Or giant ottoman room?!
Be careful about staging “multipurpose” rooms. While you do want to be able to show buyers how versatile the space is, sticking to one theme will work much better.
After all, a home office with workout equipment and a hobby space doesn’t help someone who just wants an office imagine themselves in the space. Likewise, if they may want to use that space as a gym or children’s bedroom.
How the Pros Do It
If you truly want to help your buyers imagine themselves in the space, you can stage rooms for one purpose and then have them virtually staged for another. This way you can show a fully realized image of the room serving a single purpose.
Hipster home office!
15. Using Fake Plants
OK, fake plants aren’t the end of the world, but whenever possible, try to use live plants in your home staging.
Believe it or not, you’ll actually save some money in the process. Fake plants that look even halfway realistic are surprisingly expensive.
How the Pros Do It
Buy real plants! By buying or better yet, growing live plants, you get the added benefit of having lush, beautiful plants in your home or office when they’re not being used for staging. A win/win!
16. Cheesy ‘Wall Art’
(Source: giphy)
I like to call this one the Holiday Inn deal killer. You know those bland, hideous fake paintings that are nailed to the wall of that cheap hotel room you rented back in college? Everyone else has the same visceral reaction to them that you do. Yuck.
How the Pros Do It
Instead, scour eBay, garage sales, Etsy, or Amazon for a nice set of prints or paintings that can fit multiple styles.
Remember to make sure to match whatever you buy to your other accessories as well. Check out Pinterest or Houzz for inspiration!
A handful of nice prints will improve any staged listing.
17. Not Staging With Table & Floor Lamps
The next time you watch a movie or TV show, notice the lamps. There will generally be a (gorgeous) table lamp in every interior shot. There are two excellent reasons for this: 1. Table lamps give off warm light exactly where you want it, and 2. Both table lamps and floor lamps can make a boring room look dramatic in the evening. Not only that, lamps are usually one of the primary focal points of a room when they’re lit.
So if you want to make your listing look like a home instead of a house, invest in some nice tables and floor lamps in a few different styles. I would go with, say, two matching bedside lamps plus two different table lamps and floor lamps.
How the Pros Do It
You can make a cheap lamp look glamorous by using the right lampshade and right bulb. You can also just swap lampshades to make the same lamp look wildly different if you’re on a budget.
18. Staging Obviously Fake Wine or Dinner Settings
Your whole job as a stager is to draw your guests into the home and imagine themselves actually living there. Even if they know it’s fake, they subconsciously still want to play along because it’s fun.
Setting up fake fruit displays, rubber cakes, and wine and cheese plates that are inedible or (god forbid) fake food will pull them right out of the fantasy and remind them they’re kinda-sorta being tricked into loving the house.
How the Pros Do It
Keep your table and countertops minimal and decorative—unless maybe you want a guest mistaking that wax apple for the snacks you laid out for your guests?
19. Boldly Patterned or Colored Area Rugs
Just because you love that crazy-patterned rug you bought a few years ago certainly doesn’t mean other people will. In fact, the odds are better than even that some of your open house guests will probably HATE the rug. It will also overwhelm a small space the second you unroll it and place it on the floor.
How the Pros Do It
Instead of going for the bold and the beautiful, stick to the subdued and understated. A nice neutral Sisal or even a gray or white shag will do the trick.
20. Pushing ALL the Furniture Right Up Against the Wall
Nothing can make a living room look dull and boxy faster than pushing all the furniture up against the walls. Yes, it’s easy, but it almost always looks terrible. It’s boxy-looking, and it will make a large room look empty and a smaller room look cluttered. It’s the worst of both worlds.
How the Pros Do It
If you’re trying to stage a small room and your only option is to line the furniture up against the walls, then the furniture you’re trying to stuff in that room is just too big to work. Instead, pull out a piece or pull it all out and replace with furniture that actually fits.
21. Not Shopping Online for Original Art or Knock-off Designer Furniture
Have you ever wondered how home stagers can afford such expensive art and furniture? The quick answer is that virtually all of them DON’T. Instead, they get super-expensive-looking goodies for a song for one very simple reason. They know where to look.
While figuring out the secret shopping spots in a big city can take decades, you can cheat and spend a few hours scouring the internet for that perfect “replica” painting or “homage” to that $5,000 Eames chair you want to feature in ALL your listings.
How the Pros Do It
You can start on Amazon, Etsy, and eBay, then move on to Saatchi Art (check out the under $500 section), and finally the holy grail of expensive-looking cheap stuff from China, AliExpress and DHgate.
A word of warning though: This is NOT an option for the faint of heart. It can take a long time to figure out which “replicas” look great and which look like they were designed in a dark room by an old man with glaucoma. Caveat emptor, but just know that this is the El Dorado of cheap stuff you’ve been searching for.
Share Your Best Home Staging Tips
Know some common home staging mistakes that you see real estate agents making? Have some insider home staging tips? Let us know in the comments.
👌 For more major blunders to avoid when selling your home, you can check out this article: Critical Mistakes That Can Prevent the Sale of Your Home
Many thanks for the helpful tips in the article. I also want to suggest removing private items before you decide to stage any rooms/ properties. You guys will never know what will happen if somebody accidentally sees a piece of information through a private item such as a certificate, right? You can enjoy more useful tips for staging different room types: bedroom, bathroom, office, living room in the house at our blog BeatColor
I find this article very interesting and,
I find it has several misconceptions about what should happen to prepare a property of any type and style for the sales and marketing process. The real value of this article comes from the commentary and discussion of tips and recommendations. I will share a couple of view points on how our company manages some of the questions and comments I have read through. Additionally thank you to Emile for publishing such a stimulating article to create this valued and vibrant exchange of ideas and suggestions.
1. Leave it to a professional at all times.
Many times sellers and brokers make the mistake that DIY preparations to take a property to market are cost savings actions. This is counter intuitive. As a broker you would never recommend a seller to try and sell their home alone. The legal pitfalls could be extremely costly in the end. The same mistakes staging can cost far more than the aid of a professional staging designer. Use a pro always.
2. Sellers (Unfortunately) are the worst option to prepare a home for market when it comes to making a property appeal to the target buying audience. It does not matter if you have sold one home or two or three or 10. The style trends change, home marketing strategies evolve and buyer expectations change. You should always default to your professional broker and staging designer for the best result.
3. It is a team effort and Seller, Broker and Staging designer need to be in lock step to bring a property to market. The seller needs direction on what they need to prepare in advance this always started with;
a. Pack it away – you are moving. If you don’t need it in the next 90 days put it in a box and get ready for your movers.
b. Clean it, Polish it, Repair it and Paint it. No buyer today is looking for a full scale renovation project. They want to buy it, decorate it and live in it. Personal buyer style choices today are different than the 90’s diy home trend. Most buyers looking for a renovation project will not be looking at your home as a candidate for their flip and sell.
c. Staging Designer and Broker – plan a strategy call to discuss this listing BEFORE meeting with the seller. The staging designer is your best support when it comes to delivering the bad news. As a professional responsible for making a property buyer ready. You can not hold back the need for change. Be professional, polite and respectful. But buyers need the truth and be ready to explain WHY. This will position any broker to be the emotional support for a buyer and will move these changes forward.
d. If you as a professional home stager cannot answer in one sentence why a seller needs to do the things needed to prepare their home. You need to step back and do some sole searching on how to manage your message. This is your single biggest point of a seller meeting and should be at the ready at all times with this message in a positive way.
I will close with one last recommendation for needing a better term than Staging. I agree the expansion of the services provided are not consolidated into one word. The word Staging is an action defining statement for the process very much the same as Painting, Cleaning and Eating. That is why our team uses the term “Make Ready Services For Real Estate Sales”. Because all the services we provide are far more than furniture installation and decor styling.
I am sure you have all read enough at this point to know that all advise is good information but not all advise is applicable to all situation. Geographic markets demand different tactics and strategy and no two are the same. Just as no two styles fit every listing you work on. I hope these elements that make our team successful will help you in growing your business and selling your homes.
Best of luck in your designs and making the world more beautiful one home at a time.
Wow, this is very detailed, thanks!
That was so helpful thank you. I just started my home staging course yet there is not enough support or updated information on this particular site.
I know the basics and have a very good sense of organization and style.
Tanya sounds like a whacko- I can’t imagine what a nightmare it would be to go through the after-offer, post-inspection, closing process with someone like that.
Be nice please. 🙂
Right!
One of the greatest tips that I had learned the hard way is never remove the TV out of your space. Leave the TV in your space so buyers can see where the TV is placed and they get ideas of what they can do you to set up their own space. The second one is that not all buyers want pets in their homes so I disagree with the pet being added into a picture. I know for myself, We have people who are allergic in my family with pets so that would’ve been the turned me away from that home. Also I have been in homes where I walked away because I can smell pet odour and pet urine, body odour especially in walking closets and young kids rooms. Strong perfumes use in the master bedroom bathrooms. Also, people smoking in the garage and claiming that they have a smoke free home. The garage is attached to the house it is not a smoke free home then. Please clean up your countertops especially in the bathrooms. Please remove your shampoos and your soap and anything that you use personally in the air showers. I don’t want to see your stuff in there as it’s a turn off for buying a home. I am not the only one who feels this way. It makes me feel uncomfortable and dirty. Wash the showers before you leave the house because nobody wants to see a dirty scummy shower. I have left homes without making an offer because of the shower being dirty and the counters not being organized and orders in the house. It was disgusting. Please take out all of your personal family pictures. I don’t want to see peoples pictures on the walls or in cabinets or on displays nor do I want to see your children’s pictures. Took them away and put them in boxes and put them in storage. The house is not meant for you to personalize and live in when you’re selling. The house is meant to be personalize and for your buyer to be attracted to living in that home which creates a future purchase. Agents please be on time with your scheduling. I have waited outside a half hour to see a home and a cold winter day and I was pissed by the time I got in there. I did not enjoy seeing home and I scolded the agent for being late and cutting into my time especially when I do not receive an apology for it. Please close your toilet seats for pictures and for your showings. I don’t want to see your toilet seat up. That’s gross. Put away that toilet brush. Please clean your house because people like myself who walk in there and are very meticulous and we read that the house is meticulous but we find out the house is national pigsty walk out of there and we will write your house has a very low showing home. It is gross to walk into a house that has been unkept. Make sure the dog poop is cleaned up in the backyard. Nothing is gross or than walking outside and getting the smell of dog poop while looking in the backyard. If you have cats, please try to deodorize your home in a good way as no matter how much you try to hide it the cats urine and spray stinks. Do not cancel the showing unless it’s absolutely necessary. You will lose that potential sale. Put your laundry away. I do not want to see your laundry hanging out for drying nor do I want to see a ball of laundry in the dryer. Do not turn on the dishwasher and do not turn on the wash machine. This means you haven’t taken time to clean your home properly and that you’ve been cutting corners. Plus I don’t wanna hear all that sound when I’m coming into a home. Definitely put your dirty dishes away. You don’t your cupboards and cabinets because people do go through them and other stuff to the room then it just shows that you have no storage. Packed it up and put it away in a bin or somewhere else outside of the home.
When we staged our own home, before we invited agents to view (pre-contract), we made sure to remove bar soaps, shampoo bottles, extra trash bins, curtains on windows, so it was bright and as clear of clutter as an upscale hotel room.
Please tell Tanya who wrote to share her “wisdom”, that she comes across like an obsessive compulsive fanatic and that while she is offended or disgusted by X, Y, Z, does not mean all others will feel the same. One house that I liked very much, but could not buy as 5 houses shared a joint backyard and I planned to fence off a good area of my future yard for my dogs, but the house was full of children’s art, piles of clean laundry, scads of children racing around, and shrieking in the excitement of play. Amidst all of this was a tired mom , who was working so hard, hoping, I imagine that soon her home would sell. And yes, hers was a home, not a house.
I don’t like the thought of living in the sterile environment of a hospital. I raised two children who are now adults and sold two homes with children and dogs in the mix. I truly hope my house was child-centered and not germ phobic centered.
To each the their one, except when one sets herself as an expert who mandates how all orders should act.
We don’t know who Tanya is, but appreciate your feedback here!
Great advice! Thanks for this writeup.
I found this article very helpful. The nearest stagers to my brokerage are almost 2 hours away. I’m seriously considering adding staging to my services, as it is not an option in my area. Unfortunately, professional staging services are not a resource all agents have access to.
Jen, my company offers staging consults online using your phone for occupied homes. No need to drive. You can email me at hello@stagerie.com for more info if you want.
True. It also might not make sense for listings that are below a certain price point. Virtual staging is a good alternative for around $100.
Wonderful content. Very helpful information. Thanks.
You’re welcome! Staging can be tricky and expensive, so whenever possible work with a pro and make sure you like their work.
June 2021-We are Currently selling our modest home in NM in a hot sellers’ market. I made the mistake when decluttering of selling or giving away a lot of my furniture. So I just went to thrift stores, bought a few pieces, Cleaned them up, and used them in staging. I can always sell these pieces for a Profit when I am Done with them.
The content of this post is KING! A lot of useful information is provided to viewers! Thank you for sharing it.
By taking photos of our rooms, it is easier for us to recognize unsuitable points in the current design. It will be then easier to remodel. I 100% agree with your sharing!!!
Beat color – Virtual Staging Real Estate
Great article, very instructive. I’m not a real estate pro but have sold three homes, one without staging, one with a stager recommended by my agent, and one staged by someone we engaged quite separately – the last was more awkward and costly. My reco to agents is to find a stager who shares your philosophy and who you can recommend to your clients. You and the stager need to share a vision as to who will buy the home and work together. It can be a challenge to convince sellers that staging is worth the investment for them, and not just a convenience to the agent. I’m totally sold on investing in staging, for better profit for both seller and agent.
That’s good advice!
Don’t underestimate the importance of cleaning either. Our previous house was staged when we viewed it (as we discovered when we went back for a measuring visit and saw the seller’s real furniture) but also filthy. We got it at a bargain price – as our agent observed, “They’d have got a lot more money if they’d heard of soap.” It’s worth hiring a professional cleaner.
Great tips & ideas for anyone wanting to sell their home. The only advise l have is make sure your home is clean & clear of clutter. If your using an area carpet make sure it is big enough or it will look like it is floating in the room. Also don’t hang your pictures on the wall too high. They should be @ eye level. Most of all have fun! Home staging is certainly worth the money in the long run. Good luck 😉 Sandy
Sandy, we agree 100%. Clutter makes any house look bad!
Love this article, and the commentary re staging consults. However, it looks like it is primarily for staging tips when the home is empty and then staged. It’s a different ballgame when you are using the seller’s pieces! Best tip: every room should have a single purpose.
Thanks Nora.
The word Staging is confusing to many, so I need another word or two that summarizes the act of decluttering, editing, cleaning a home PRIOR to listing and on line photos. Can you help me?
I am comfortable with the word “staging” but I find that sometime clients get a little nervous about that. And if I or the stager throw in “decluttering”, I may have to explain it more. Both accurate terms though.
“Listing preparation” seems to work better. Maybe that’s less likely to create a defensive response. Hope that helps!
Hmmmm, maybe something like “pre listing preparation”? Something a little less boring than that maybe, but you can never go wrong with being descriptive!
Thank you for sharing these wonderful tips! I enjoyed viewing the major difference changing things around can make, and helping sell a home much faster.
We’re happy you liked it and we had fun making it!
When staging homes, I employ subliminal messaging; a cookbook on the kitchen counter showing a beautiful meal (I use a book stand) or a magazine on the coffee table with large print cover saying something like “House Beautiful”. I also add tent cards that are placed throughout the home with the highlights of each area i.e. “this room features a tray ceiling, newer carpet, and crown molding”. Don’t forget tent cards for outdoor features such as sprinkler system, deck etc that is placed in the kitchen or console table. Do a brochure that lists all the upgrades or improvements for the entire home.
Ha, that’s pretty clever! Would love to see some listing pictures with subtle messaging like this if you have any.
Doesn’t that open cookbook fall into the category of “trickery”? Lol. IDK, the cards seem a bit clutter or distracting to me..
Teri, who’s to say you weren’t just working on an instagram worthy recipe for lemon bars after finishing your peleton workout right before the photographer showed up? 😉
Is it ok to set a 10 1/2′ table for 12 when you want to show how many can be seated in a lakefront home? We’ve actually had room for 18 with an extension my husband made.)
Stephanie, I would go with whatever looks best in the space. Sometimes putting the largest table you can no matter how many places it has can make the space feel crowded, not to mention cost you a ton of money.
Nice Post. Thanks for sharing
Thanks Charles!
Easy and the best way to do it.
Indeed.
it is very informative post. the tips you have shared in this post is very useful. I would definitely try to follow your tips. thanks for sharing this information with us. https://www.bellastaging.ca/
Hey Chris,
Glad you liked the article and thanks for stopping by.
I’ve also had some nightmare experiences with my business here in Allen TX, I vividly remember one realtor that thought it would be appropriate to not dust a property before a showing. Obviously, at the time I did not mention anything about his approach, but I am certainly glad he called me to assist in the sale.
It took us about 2 weeks to sell the home with no price drops 🙂
——————————————————————–
Home Stager in TX
Owner of AllenHomeStaging.com
Yeah, there’s nothing like visible dust to make a home look old and sad.
Instead of cutting the panels to size you can just velcro the back of one long curtain panel and then maybe iron the ends so they don’t fluff up at the ends.
Hey Katia,
Thanks for the kind words and hope you have a killer 2019!
I agree with Emile, not every agent has the budget for staging. I think everyone would love to have all their listings staged but if they pay for a professional photographer then there might not be enough in the kitty for a professional stager.
It also can be difficult to tell your new client to remove most of their personal belongings and remove some furniture that they use and have had in their home for a long time. Doing a few basic decluttering steps in the beginning will set the tone for more decluttering if needed. Each client is different!
Yup. Staging can get pricey very quickly and is virtually unheard of in some areas with lower home prices.
“deal-killing home staging mistakes even experienced Realtors make.” “Realtors make.”
Therein lies the problem. The biggest mistake, the one to eliminate making most, if not all mistakes, is the Realtor doing the staging. The agents job is to market and sell the home. Agents don’t paint the houses, mow the lawns or do the appraisals. They have their go-to professionals they rely upon. They have a team to support their efforts, lend credibility and ensure mistakes are not made.
Working with a professional stager is one of the wisest investments a Realtor can encourage the seller to make. Looking at the higher sale prices of professionally staged listings and the amount spent on professional staging, in the end it doesn’t cost a dime. It is free money.
I agree, I had more design talent than she did and she wanted funky colors… I stuck to my guns and kept neutral colors, light grey, white and black accents and wide open spaces… house was on the market for a whole two days but had offers within an hour of listing… a bidding war broke out (why it took 2 days to sell) and I sold for over $120K of what I was asking! Now 6 months later I have a second property about to go on the market (2 houses down) by mid month next month… I hope I can have the same luck with it! Even tempted to list it starting at the price I sold the first one at! Who knows?
Hey Charity,
I hear you… The problem is that many agents don’t have the budget for professional home staging, or have a small budget that they need to use DIY to supplement.
Emile, in my opinion the agent should only pay for the staging consultation. At that point, it is up to the homeowner to decide if the investment is worth it to them. The purpose of staging is to sell a property for the most amount of dollars in the least amount of time possible. Staging can increase profits beyond the cost of investment that the staging would cost.
Hey Ana,
I think this makes sense and most agents aren’t going out of pocket for staging.