Special offer

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland, Oregon? My Home Looks Bigger Without Furniture! Part 4

By
Home Stager with Synergy Staging ~ specializing in vacant home staging

We've heard that anywhere from 90% to 95% of potential buyers cannot visualize their furnishings in an empty room.  Even if that number is lower, why allow a buyer to question something about your home that can be easily answered?

A professional home stager can help define a room with the proper placement of furniture.  This will not only allow the focal points and architecture of the home to be featured, but also provide a natural flow from within the room so buyers can understand just how they can live in the house.

Furniture defines a room in more ways than one. 

A small room feels larger once it is properly furnished because your eye has something to relate the space to.  Some buyers may think that they can't fit their furniture in an empty room as they generally imagine their furniture is larger than it really is.  Staging demonstrates the scale of furniture in the space so buyers aren't left to wonder.

Synergy Staging Portland Oregon       Synergy Staging Portland Oregon

This very small guest room, directly off a living room, looked like nothing more than a passthrough when it was empty.  A lounger with just the right scale and nightstand allows a buyer to see exactly how the room can be used with no more guessing.  It simply did not look like a bed could fit in the space before it was staged.

Synergy Staging Portland Oregon       Synergy Staging Portland Oregon

This small loft was advertised as a bedroom, but there was not a bed in the room and it seemed too small.  Using a bed from another room in the house, this space was transformed into the bedroom that it was being marketed as.

 

On the other hand, an oversized empty room can feel overwhleming and buyers are often concerned about what to do with the space.  Staging can make these large spaces feel more livable and cozy once furnished.  It can also provide a creative layout to the space that shows the full potential of the room.

Synergy Staging Portland Oregon       Synergy Staging Portland Oregon

This large great room had two focal points, a fireplace and built in tv stand.  It was important to accent both, while still keeping the room cozy and intimate.  By creating several sitting areas the room felt warm and inviting.

Synergy Staging Portland Oregon       Synergy Staging Portland Oregon

This was a unique project in that we were called in to only stage the master bedroom because everyone who had viewed the house didn't know how to fit a bed in here due to the awkward floorplan and sloped ceiling.  Not only did a bed fit, but we put in king size bed and a sitting area, in addition to a dresser which is not in the photo.  After this room was staged, not one potential buyer questioned the layout.

 

On average, staged houses sell faster and for more money.  Why?  These examples are just one of the reasons.  Don't let your potential buyers wonder -  Will my furniture fit?  What do I do with this room?  Confusion and questions hinder a sale - beautiful staging which allows buyers to connect emotionally with the property enhance a sale.


This post is Part 4 in a series answering Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland, Oregon?

Previous posts can be found here:

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Watch HGTV!  Part 1 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  I Already Decorated It! Part 2 in a Series

Why Hire a Professional Stager in Portland Oregon?  My Pictures Are Fine!  Part 3 in Series

=========================================================================================

Join the Realtors, Investors, and Homeowners who call Synergy Staging to make their properties irresistible.  For more tips or to see our latest home staging projects, visit us on Facebook and read our Portland Home Staging Blog.  Please call us at (503) 557-2244 for a free no obligation quote so we can help your home sell faster.

Posted by

Synergy Staging Portland Oregon

 Synergy Staging on Twitter - StagerDavid         Synergy Staging on Facebook

content may not be reproduced without permission

Comments(9)

Wendy Carroll
Coeur d'Alene, ID

Yes, yes, yes!  Case in point:  we recently staged a townhouse that had seemingly small bedrooms.  We happened to be there finishing up when a buyer was brought in by his agent.  He and his parents had already seen three other IDENTICAL townhouses (why three, I don't know) that were vacant and was undecided.

Within minutes of entering the townhouse we heard "I love it."  When they came upstairs, the buyer asked us what size the bed was.  A queen, we said.  Ah! he said.  There you have it.  The only reason he would have asked was because the vacant townhouses gave him doubts about whether a queen bed would fit.

He made an offer 20 minutes later.

In a vacant house, a buyer has no persepctive, no frame of reference.

 

Aug 20, 2009 06:34 PM
Laurie Calhoun
Gloria Home Staging, Inc. - Winter Springs, FL
Seminole County FL Home Stager

You are SO RIGHT, and your pictures are an eloquent testimony to it. Keep spreading the good word!

Aug 21, 2009 02:13 AM
Ginger Foust
Certified Staging Professional - Oakhurst, CA
Home Stager Oakhurst CA, Dream Interior Redesign & Staging

Perfect examples David in our war against vacant homes!  Keep up the fight.   

Aug 21, 2009 04:12 AM
David Peterson
Synergy Staging ~ specializing in vacant home staging - Portland, OR
Home Stager Portland OR-Synergy Staging-Portland Oregon

Wendy ~ Great testimonial - thanks for sharing!  Congrats on the quick sale.

Laurie ~ I'll keep spreading it as much as I can =)

Ginger ~ With the amount of vacant homes on the market this is more important than ever.

Aug 21, 2009 04:22 AM
Chrissie Sutherland
Ready Set Stage - Greensboro, NC

I love this demonstration.  It is so true and your photos prove it.  Great job.

Aug 21, 2009 11:33 AM
C. Bartch
Newark, OH

David, It doesn't look like a bed would have fit in the first set of photos, sweet staging job! Oh so true about the large spaces being overwhelming and great photos to prove your point.

Aug 22, 2009 12:45 AM
Virginia Tatseos
Stage-Show-Sell - Bloomfield Township, MI

Great post and great examples.   Keep up the good work.

 

I'm working with a house now that has a pass thru bedroom.  I was thinking of making it an office but NOW I'll keep it as a bedroom.

Thanks

Aug 23, 2009 05:05 AM
Jane Ann Lance, ASPM, IAHSP, WCR
Mobile, AL

David, fantastic job!  Your photos should be in a textbook for homesellers!

Aug 23, 2009 01:12 PM
David Peterson
Synergy Staging ~ specializing in vacant home staging - Portland, OR
Home Stager Portland OR-Synergy Staging-Portland Oregon

Chrissie ~ Thank you!

Cynthia ~ Thaks for the feedback.  The lounger fit with room to spare!

Virginia ~ I'm glad you were able to get a bit of inspiration for your room.

Jane ~ A homeseller textbook...  Hmmm =)

Aug 24, 2009 10:49 AM