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What if the home is perfect already: does a home stager ever have nothing to say to a client?

By
Home Stager with Staging Diva / Six Elements Inc.

Eating area staged by Debra GouldOne of the concerns or questions that always comes up with my new Staging Diva students is:

What do I do if the house looks so great when I get there that there is nothing for me to recommend?

Trust me, that won’t happen! Every house has something that needs to be moved around, removed or added before it goes on the market.

The beautiful room seen here, looked very similar before they implemented my changes. In fact this million dollar property located about 90 minutes outside of the city, was filled with beautiful furniture already. But a lot of it wasn’t optimally arranged.

One of the problems with this eating area off the kitchen was that the light fixture was originally hung about 12 to 18 inches lower than you see it here. This had the effect of closing in the room and making you feel like it was about to fall, which was scary since it’s so heavy-looking and it’s hanging over a glass table that’s sitting on a ceramic floor.

Homebuyers might not have realized exactly why they felt unsettled in this room, but that would have been a key reason. The other change I made was putting that large plant in on the right where a tall TV/TV stand used to be. There were other changes I made to this particular home, in fact I was there for several hours moving things around with her agent's help (how's that for an involved agent?)!

"Decorating to sell" is not the same as "decorating to live" which is why there is always something to recommend in any home you do a home staging consultation in.

While what we do as home stagers may seem obvious to us at times, it isn’t obvious to the clients we serve. They don’t bring the same eye to their home that we do for two key reasons:

  • very few home staging clients can look at their own homes as objectively as they should before putting them on the market
  • the general population doesn’t have the same design and color sense a good home stager does

Debra Gould





Debra Gould, The Staging Diva
President, Six Elements Inc.

Home Staging expert Debra Gould also known as The Staging Diva is president of Six Elements Inc., a leading home staging company that provides free information to raise the standards in the industry and build awareness amongst homeowners and their real estate agents about the benefits of decorating a house to sell.

Debra Gould developed The Staging Diva Program to create opportunities for others to grow their own profitable home staging, real estate enhancement businesses. Graduates are available for your home staging project across the US, Canada and in Australia, South Africa and Wales. 

Leslie Bloss, Bellevue Real Estate Professional
Bellevue, WA
Hi Debra,  I have a question about being a stager in general.  Do you rent the things you put into client's homes or do you have to have a big wearhouse?  I have some friends that think they would really enjoy that line of work.  Not me--I cannot "put things together."  I go to the "Street of Dreams" every year here in the Seattle area.  It is where many custom builders build homes in a neighborhood and have each one staged by their own stagers.  It is a great event and many people enjoy it.  It always amazes me how the stagers can put things together that look great.
Oct 08, 2006 10:14 AM
Debra Gould
Staging Diva / Six Elements Inc. - Toronto, ON
The Staging Diva
Hi Leslie, Yes I rent the things I put into a client's home. This allows me to always source the right things for that particular home rather than relying on whatever is in my personal inventory. Some stagers do it the other way however. I discuss all the pros and cons of having your own staging inventory as part of the Staging Diva Training Program.
Oct 09, 2006 04:24 AM