Ask any new stager what their favorite part of owning a staging business is and they will answer "Shopping!" Ask that same stager a year later and they will answer "Anything but shopping!"

While initially the shopping aspect of staging may seem like a dream job- you actually get paid to go buy items for peoples homes- the reality is that selecting inventory is a very serious task and at times can be quite stressful and overwhelming.

Shopping is much more complicated than running over to your local TJMaxx and throwing things in a cart. As a staging business owner there are a lot of factors to consider such as:

1. How will I finance the inventory I am purchasing? 

If you stage vacant homes one of the most exciting things is selecting all the items that will go into the home. I liken it to Barbie's Dream House for grown ups! The reality is however that Santa is not bringing you the plastic furniture, you have to pay for the items that are going into a client's home usually before the staging job has taken place. 

Purchasing staging inventory is part of running a business. Just as any other contractor has to purchase their tools to do a job, you have to purchase inventory to do yours.  Since you do not charge your client the full retail cost to rent your items per month, often times you spend much more on the inventory you are putting in your client's home that you actually make on the staging job.

Decide how you will finance your shopping efforts and track how much you are spending on inventory. Will you use a credit card? If so make sure it is a business credit card so you do not commingle personal purchases with business purchases. Also use the same card for all purchases so you can track what you spend. Will you get a small business loan? If so make sure to understand the payments and interest structure. Often times you will pay much more in interest than a credit card. Need cash flow? A simple way to come up with funds for inventory is to ask clients for a deposit upfront before you begin planning the job. Usually I ask for 1/2 of the staging project total. You can then use these funds to purchase the items you need. Come tax time Uncle Sam will want to know the assets your business has and inventory will be your most valuable asset.

2. Make sure to select items that are versatile yet in keeping with the price point of the home:

There is a delicate balance between selecting items that are in keeping with the style of the home you are staging and selecting items that can used universally. This is a mistake that stagers make time and time again.  You want to select items that work with the architectural style of the home you are staging but you do not want the items to be too period specific so that you can not use them again in another home. Unlike interior designers we do not showcase the furniture or the accessories we are placing in the home. We are using the items to better highlight the space or architectural details the home offers so we want to choose items that will work with various styles.

Time and time again I have seen the perfect item that would look great in a particular home I am staging. I would then purchase that item, use it in the home and then never use it again because it was too specific to that particular home. 2 years ago I purchased a large metal dress form to use in a dressing room in a Victorian home. It looked perfect and we had a lot of fun staging with it but now that thing is collecting dust in the back of the storage unit and would look pretty scary in some of the more modern homes we are staging. I have also fallen victim to buying various bedding sets that worked perfectly with a client's wall paper and would look ridiculous in other homes I am staging. These mistakes are costly so think carefully before buying things that only will work with a specific decor.

On the other hand make sure to choose items that will work with the price point of the home you are staging. More expensive homes require more expensive inventory. I recently gave an estimate on a home and lost the job to another stager who charged less. Three months later the builder asked me to come over and take a look at what the stager had done. He was less than thrilled. The home was staged BUT the decor that the stager selected was entirely too modern for a renovated farm house and looked way too cheap for a 4 million dollar property. He needed oriental rugs, oil paintings, lamps and mirrors. She had installed photos mounted on foam core- not quite the look in keeping with the tastes of the target buyer. Her staging was not bad-  I loved the colors but the items would have worked better in a condo in the city than a historic property.

3. Size Matters!

Scale is essential when selecting inventory and it is even more important when you are staging a vacant home. Since often times we are not fully furnishing spaces it is important to consider how the items will work in a partially vacant space. A series of small prints will look like they are floating away on a large wall with no furniture. A larger painting will anchor this space much better. Small delicate items will get lost on a coffee table but 1 or 3 larger items will make more of an impact. The same with lamps. Adding larger more interesting lamps make much more of a statement in a vignette than lams from a box that are too small and look awkward. Another factor to consider when purchasing items is installation time and loading time for your jobs. It takes much more time to load and carefully measure and hang a series of artwork than it does to pack and hang one larger piece in a home.

4. It isn't all about you- its about the furniture you are using.

So many times when I have purchased items I find myself thinking how great this would look in my own home. True, one of the perks of the job is that I can "borrow" things from my inventory for my own home but you have to constantly remind yourself that you are not decorating your home. Take a step back and think about the space you are designing and whether or not that item can work in that space and complement other items in your inventory. Today when I look at my inventory I would not use most of it in my own home. The items do not work with my decor but instead work with the rental furniture that I use most often. When you select items take into consideration the rental furniture that you will use and select items that work with those pieces.

Below is a list of must have items for your inventory:

Pillows in all colors and textures- pillows can instantly dress up neutral rental furniture and bedding.

Greenery-ledge plants, trees and floor plants are essential as are faux or "permanent botanicals" I prefer orchids because they are timeless and do not look too fake.

Lamps- let there be light. Select pairs of lamps and try not to break them up. You will be so upset when you are looking for matching lamps for a bedroom and discover that one of the lamps is at another home. By the time the inventory comes back the other lamp will be out and they will never match again.

Large Artwork and large mirrors- larger pieces make more of a statement are easier to hang.

Area rugs-Sisals, Orientals, Persians- these can add instant color to a vacant room.

Bedding- This can make or break a master bedroom. Select bedding that looks luxurious and works well with the rental furniture and your artwork- not the client's decor.

Large Accent items-Try not to get caught up with itty bitty items. A larger colorful piece makes more of a statement and is less items to pack.

To learn more about selecting inventory and other ways to grow your staging business visit my website at hartstaging.com

Don't just stage, stage smarter! ^TM

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