Combination Staging - Working with Home Owners to Stage the House
Preferred Staging recently completed a series of walk-through consultations and hands-on staging for a client in Centreville, Virginia. This type of "as needed" staging is really a win-win-win for the home owner, realtor, and us.
We were called in for a walk-through consultation, and as the ideas and suggestions are offered and discussed we simply start to implement them. How will this table look over here? That lamp looks better in the other room, etc. This is not an uncommon occurrence - the idea is fresh in our minds, the home owner is often enthused by the ideas and changes taking place, and by going to work right away we see if we're on the right track. After 2 ½ hours, we were all pretty tired and the homeowner had quite a To Do list. The challenge is that we are typically limited to the items the home owner has on hand. We may bring in our own pieces or rent furniture, if necessary, but for the most part, we work with what we have.
Two weeks later we were back at the house, and by this time most of the clutter, extra pieces of furniture, and out-of-season items had been put into storage. Carpets had been cleaned, some minor repair work completed, and painters scheduled for the next day to paint bedrooms with colors suggested by Preferred Staging. Following our advice, furniture had been rearranged or put into different rooms, wall art removed and/or rehung elsewhere, and a few accent pillows purchased. We worked with what the homeowner had to set an attractive dining room table, and items in the china cabinet were nicely displayed. Built-in bookshelves were cleared and reorganized, and decorative elements were placed around the house where needed.
We were back for a final walk-through one week before the listing went live. The home owners had worked long and hard over the past three weeks. Rooms had been painted and some new bedding purchased - items that would be moving with them to the new house. Beautiful flowers were planted in the front yard for added curb appeal, and baskets of flowers hung around the deck. Except for the final clean up and touch ups needed before an open house, everything was ready.
I went back at the end of the open house on Sunday to take my "after" photos, and there was one couple still looking. They were impressed with what they saw in every room - the inviting dining room, the simple yet attractive display in the master bathroom, even the colors of the newly painted bedrooms. Stagers don't often get the opportunity to hear feedback from potential buyers, and I couldn't wait to tell the home owners that all of their hard work was well worth it!
All the Best,
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