Stage Rooms for Their Intended Purpose When Selling a House

Declutter....you are luck she didn't stay in denial about what the home COULD become...good job !

Thanks so much for the information, I will say on the smallest of homes, most homebuyers I have helped have been using that 3rd bedroom as an office as of late-but I agree.

This is so important for sellers to realize Marianne.  And for some reason it seems dining rooms are being used more for other purposes than dining. I know we don't use ours but for special occassions opting to dine in our eat in kitchen and I've read that some home builders are actually phasing out the formal dining room however if a home is being sold with a "formal dining room" then it must show as that because buyers are expecting to see it.  Always show what you're selling for it's intended purpose.  The only exception I make is for offices, if the house has more than 3 bedrooms, I'm fine with showing one as an office.

Excellent point, Marianne.  While I do NOT use my dining room as it was intended, I do know for certain that if I were to put it on the market, I would need to convert it back. Right now, it serves a very useful purpose as a cozy little den.

Kathy

Agree except we always put a desk in at least one of the bedrooms. We stock small sleek ones that work well. Everyone today is looking for at least three areas of the home to set up computer stations and home office areas

Excellent home seller advice Marianne.  We just went through the same scenario last week.

Marianne:
Could not agree more!  Three bedroom homes should have three bedrooms... Five bedrooms?  Maybe four and an office would not be so bad.  Great post! Good luck with the listing.

I couldn't agree more.  Unfortunately I just saw a vacant home that was staged by a stager where she had flipped the dining room with the living room.  I was told the reason was that the intended dining room was to small.  The flow of the home was compromised with this decision, as you can imagine.  

Wow, what a huge difference between the "before" and "after" picture.  You are absolutely right, a room should be setup for its intended purpose.  It looked like a storage room in the "before" picture and could scare off most potential buyers.   

Congrats on the gold star.

The first photo was so bad I could see the walls of the room.

Good clean out and great staging.

Excellent advice to agents and sellers. Give buyers what they are expecting to see and they will see the value in a home. No matter how simple you stage or how meager the budget may be, this is always the true course to take in staging. Clients can borrow furniture if there is no budget, but do make the space look like its intended purpose.

Wow, your description alone of the kitchen scares me.  I cannot image actually seeing it.  I am sure you earned every dime on this project.  This is an excellent example of what a great stager can do for a home!

Lately, I've had more buyers asking for formal dining rooms-- you never know!  I totally agree-- if the buyer wants to see a house with a dining room, show them a dining room! 

My other pet peeve-- the parents' spa bath becoming a kids' bath-- overrun with toys, etc., even when they have their own bath.  The parents told me, "They like the big garden tub."  Well, who wouldn't?  ;-)) 

Marianne- very good advice!! In one of my houses I Staged the study/den had been turned into a nursery.  Especially awkward since it was just off the grand foyer.  Good point for all of us to remember.

This is a wonderful post that should speak to every seller.