Why Home Staging is the Opposite of Decorating

If you were planning to hire someone to decorate your home you would want them to capture the essence of you, your family and what is important to you. The colors you enjoy as well as perhaps a particular theme or style. Decorators are wonderful at capturing that in a design but let's not forget that when you are selling it is NOT all about you and your family, it's what is about the potential buyers that matters!

Another vital point to remember when selling your home is the way you live when you are not selling your home is different that when you have put it on the market, period. You will have to make some changes to accommodate this.

Buyers will notice everything and it is important to have a Professional Home Stager view your home as they have the necessary objective eye that will get your home buyer- ready! A decorator is not trained to stage a home or be well versed in the real estate market or what the demographics are in your neighborhood. There is no possible way to see a home that you have lived in objectively. You get used to its creaks and faults and forget things that a Professional will spot immediately.

When I meet with a client I need to know what type of buyer will be interested in the home, what type of home owners live in the area and also have a good idea of what the pricing of a comparable home would be. Once I am able to determine those pertinent details I can begin to take the home and transform it into one that appeals to a large buyer audience. This is so important! Many sellers tell me that they got positive feedback on their décor and don't see what the problem is. Firstly we're not selling the decor, we're selling the home. If somebody pays more attention to your hand painted sculptures than your home, there is a problem!

Homes for sale need to be neutralized for potential buyers to envision themselves moving in as the home is turnkey versus pouring thousands of dollars into repairs, new paint, upgrades etc. That is the point of home staging. We stagers play up the most favorable points in your home and draw special attention to features that should be a focal point but minimize attention to the negative ones.

As you can see from the points listed, staging involves a lot more than re-arranging some furniture and making it look pretty. It is a careful combination of many different skills that is best left up to the experts, those who do this every day for a living!