This model home visually illustrates the many differences between interior design and home staging.

Because of the size, scope, and duration of this project, as well as the number of photos we wish to share, we’re presenting this transformation in two parts.

A beautiful home is built as a model for a proposed 101-acre development. Then it sits. And sits. It sits unoccupied for more than 10 years. The home appears finished but lacks two basic features, running water and a septic system. What does exist is a home decorated to the nines in a style that is, after 10 years, no longer current.

There are many timeless elements in this traditional home. Classic wood floors and windows, custom built-ins flanking a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, views galore, and no expense spared in the building’s construction, materials, or interior design.

But it’s not a well-staged home. It is a well-decorated home.

What’s the difference? Staging is visual marketing. By using interior design concepts and decorating techniques, staging directs a buyer’s eye to the most desired, unique, and valued features in and around a home.

In contrast, decorating places the focus on a home’s contents and the owner’s personal possessions, tastes, and style. Where decorating and staging do merge is in achieving a warm and inviting feeling for all who enter.

This home was beautifully designed, taking into account the year it was decorated. I appreciate the designer’s talent greatly. Whoever she was, she was good. So good that we’re able to edit down the excess to remove many of the dated decorative distractions, revealing the timeless elements of the architecture.

There is a limited budget for repainting, as we would have loved to repaint the two-story main living space the same color we repainted the basement and primary suite.

For those spaces, we choose a light, neutral color that meshes well with the warm gold used throughout the house.

Since the home sits for so long unoccupied, the mice elect to move in, feasting on and destroying a mattress, a sofa, and most of the bedding. In addition to that, there is also a major leak in the first-floor primary bedroom requiring an extensive repair.

Agent Donna Blais of Raveis Realty, feels it’s best to collaborate with a pro to pick out the needed paint and carpeting to repair that space. Her office manager suggests contacting AtWell Staged Home for help.

What starts as a bedroom update turns into a whole home staging to unify the old spaces with the new. We also assist with a review of the overgrown and neglected exterior. There, special attention is given to the plantings along the walkway leading up to and around the front door.

For the interior, we purchase only minor items such as a floor lamp, one mattress, bedding for all four bedrooms, various throw pillows, an entry rug, and a few small pieces of art.

What’s surprising is how much of the décor we don’t put back out on display. Leaving the new owners with many hidden extras in cabinets, drawers, and closets, as this home is sold with all its contents.

We hope you’ll enjoy the transformations of the main-level living spaces. Check out Part 2 to hear about the final results and to view the rest of the transformations.

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