Don't Hire A Decorator To Do A Stagers' Job

This week, I've been previewing a bunch of upscale condos.  And one was a stand out for not all the right reasons.

The building, near Whole Foods and Logan Circle, has been a work in progress since about 2005, when it was planned as a super-posh mecca for the chic and trendy Urban dwellers.

The first model apartment was a knock out.  But like a bump on the head with a kitchen cabinet door! 

The powder room had, um, carnivorous wallpaper.  In the kitchen, the tile didn't make it in time for the back-splash, and the decorator painted it a bright red-orange - I needed to put drops in my eyes after I looked at it. 

One of the larger units had a king sized bed in a small master bedroom.  It did show you could squeeze in a king, but it also made the room look small.  That same unit had a six-seater round table in a small dining alcove - again, I suspect it was to show that you could seat six for dinner.  Except what I really noticed was that I kept bumping into the chairs.

And it really illustrated the difference between what a professional stager would do and what a decorator would do. 

The stagers has just enough to suggest possibilities for how to use the space.  The decorator wants to make a statement - the bolder the better.

And maybe it's got something to do with ego.  There was a lot of it present in those condo units.