Same-Old, Same-Old, Boring Home Staging
Mix it up with a personal touch so that your home doesn’t suffer from same-old, same-old, boring home staging.
How do you break the home staging “mold” and mix it up so that your staged home doesn’t look like everybody else’s staged home?
The best and easiest way is to use what you already have. What could be more unique than a home, curated for years by caring home owners, thoughtfully reimagined by a professional home stager?
Don’t get me wrong. I love beautiful staging, but much of it can bore me to tears. Specifically, staging in which all of the owners’ personal possessions and furniture are removed and too often replaced with trendy, unoriginal, sterile stylings. And all this is usually thrown together quickly, with little or no consideration for the family who may have to live there while the home is on the market.
Are these staged homes all starting to look the same to you too? Same-old, same-old, boring home staging, rinse and repeat.
What if you’re not interested in spending thousands of dollars on décor when you already have a fully furnished home?
What if you have higher priorities, like fixing an ailing septic system, repairing a roof, or taking that oil tank out of the ground? What if the sale of your home depends on these fixes?
Where, then, do you invest your staging dollars, and how do you reap the benefits of home staging without breaking the bank?
My advice is consistently the same. Focus on cleaning, repairing the structural elements of the property, painting where needed, and finishing it all up by creatively using the existing furnishings, lighting, art, and accessories to show off the home’s best features.
As owner-occupied home staging specialists, what really gets our creative juices flowing when staging a home to sell? You guessed it. Limitations. Lots of limitations…
Such as the need to stage quickly, maybe in as little as a day or a few hours, to make a seller’s deadline…
Having just enough of a budget for repairs and touch-ups but not enough for a complete paint job…
Needing to use only what is in the home with the exception of some creative borrowing from family, friends, agents, and online or in-person swap meets…
Or keeping the home livable throughout the sales process.
The biggest barrier to staging is often due to a misconception of what staging really is. This strong and pervasive belief—held by many home sellers and Realtors alike—is that staging is too expensive and only required in certain situations. What most don’t know is that staging comes in countless “flavors” and that every home can benefit from staging.
Meeting the home sellers “where they are” and going from there is key to staging owner-occupied homes and to our Stage to Profit® System. When these three executors reach out to us, that is exactly what they want too.
How do you handle the sale and preparation of your inherited home?
Get your free guide:
Selling an Inherited Home: What You Need to Know.
Based on these clients’ descriptions of their homes, timelines, budgets, goals, and resources, we are in total agreement that the “Goldilocks” approach will work best. In other words, not doing too much or too little, but instead, getting the staging just right by using what they already have.
We appreciate the uniqueness of a couple’s collections, family heirlooms, and antique furniture. We can use our creativity to turn that into a modern creation that can compete with any other comparable home on the market.
Every owner-occupied or inherited home staging begins with a comprehensive “working” consultation, reviewing the home inside and out, from basement to attic. Every piece of furniture is considered, and when possible, each room is transformed on the spot.
Here is what one client recently shared about her inherited home staging experience with AtWell Staged Home:
“Thank you so much, Susan. It all is a bit overwhelming, but you made it SO much easier and for that I’m super grateful. We are very proud of how we staged the house with your help. You were so supportive and helpful along the way and made a difficult process manageable and even fun 🙂 By the way, when our agent’s team came to see the house after it was ready, they asked who the stager was. They liked what they saw.”
Katonah, NY, House – 5,000-square-feet
Area rug moved to living room (see below), furniture blocking door from fully opening moved to left wall, and window treatments removed.
Area rug from dining room works perfectly here, window treatments are removed, and one of the two wingback chairs is moved to the den.
Area rug and art found in the home warm this entry.
White Plains, NY, House – 2,800-square-feet
A fresh coat of paint is always a good investment, and all rooms are staged with furniture found in the home.
“Office” furniture is removed and replaced with dresser on right, which had been blocking the flow to the large closet and private bath. Fresh paint and window treatments are removed.
Somers, NY, Condo – 1,100-square-feet
Hasty home sellers return wingback chair and ottoman to stage this home for $0.
