STAGE IT AND GET IT SOLD!

We will have to be careful with this discussion, Phyllis.  Fans of HGTV are everywhere...

Bugger them, you are EXACTLY right!! Everyone on ALL of these programs works for free.  So the public is given a totally unrealistic idea of budgets and what can you get for the money.  It creates 800 pound gorillas all round.

Furthermore, have you ever noticed the remarkably appropriate "treasures" these people pick up at yard sales? And, yeah, you're right, where can you get a couch for $147?  Even Ikea doesn't offer such a deal.

Presumably their point is to create a dramatic, interesting show.  Building to the Reveal, you know?  That they describe mediocre, half-baked realtors as NJ's finest, that anyone normally would do a cocktail party with opera singers at a Broker's OPen House is just ridiculous.  It's TV.

D'you suppose real detectives feel the same way about the CSI franchise?  Or do you think they're all falling over themselves to get in on the action?

Oh dear, you've hit a nerve with me, I fear, Phyllis.  Maybe I'm just jealous because I have always wanted a TV show and still do.  One day... one day... it's never too late to be what you might have been, right?

Phyllis, great points!  While we all enjoy the theatrical side of those shows, we know what they do just can't be done for the money they spend.  I love the way Lisa Laporta puts in new flooring, granite countertops, new light fixtures, several pieces of furniture, and knocks down walls for under 2k!  No way the average person could do that.  They must be getting deep discounts from Home Depot.  So, what it leaves the average watcher, is the idea that all staging can be done just like that for that amount of money.  Its a hard sell to potential clients.  Those shows are not real world.

Phyllis - good post and right on the money - oops, what money?  I have noticed in a few of the shows lately that when the designer and homeowners go shopping for these marvelous finds, the camera shows them going into the shop and even bargaining with the staff.  Hmmmmmmmm, perhaps that is how they get the "deals" - the store gets TV advertising!  Nothing in words, but the camera does not lie and the name of the shop is easily visible.  Check it out - watch how the camera keeps the designer and homeowners in the bottom 1/3 of the scene with the shop name quite prominent in the top 2/3 of the screen.  I have also seen shows where they convince the owner of the store that they "just can't quite meet the price and would they possibly reduce it to to stay within the show's budget" and another where they convinced the store to "donate" the items.  Unfortunately, most viewers don't pick up on these strategies.   

Juliet: maybe you should audition for the next HGTV Design Star! I agree that these shows are unrealistic. Last night Lisa bought a glass top table and 4 chairs for under $200-not in my neighborhood! Not even in the Bargain Box of the paper.....The pro is that they make these homes look amazing-the con is that the pricing is crazy. If homeowners could do this work that chaep-they would all do it themselves!

Great post!

When we do our Realtor presentations, I always stress- what you see on HGTV is made for TV!  No we dont have to tear down any walls or cabinets.  We arent mean, like Donna Freeman!  We are professionals!  I think that HGTV has made what we do some inexpensive.  Not saying that homestaging is COSTLY, however we stress that it is an investment!

Now to answer your question, I would make a STRONG recommendation that the seller would paint! before we staged!

Phyllis- your comment brought a twinkle to my eye as I pictured all of us getting together, staging ourselves as Audrey Hepburn look-a-likes, and presenting ourselves at the HGTV corporate headquarters singing "Oh wouldn't it be loverly".  :)

Phyllis,

What a wonderful point you make.  I am always a little aprhensive when a client tells me they are a HGTV junkie and their favorite show is Designed to Sell.  I happen to love this and all the HGTV shows for the entertainment value (sometimes the ideas and helpful hints).  I do wish they would include an estimate of the labor involved as well. We as Stagers are still responsible for educating our clients in the type of the services we provide, while assuring them we are working toward providing them with positive results.  Even if it soes not include a complete kitchen and bathroom remodel. 

I too wish I could find a $147.00 sofa.  Think of all the money I could save and what a big inventory I could have.

Happy Staging,

Trish Lane 

Hi Phyllis, I met yesterday with a rental furniture rep and we were commiserating and laughing about this very subject!  People do indeed come away from these shows marveling (and unfortunately believing) that all of the efforts (including materials AND labor) portrayed on these shows can be accomplished for $2K. On one hand, I think it's good for our business to have shows solely devoted to the topic, but they certainly can do a disservice to the industry when people are led to believe things that aren't based in reality.

Thanks for the great post! 

 

 

Just wondering--what kind of personal inventory do you stagers have as far as furniture, pictures, linens and towels? I just took a stageing course last week--mainly hoping it would give me some tools to use n getting my clients' homes sold. In my area, we have a huge inventory of resales competing with new construction. We need to make the resales look as good as possible. Do you stagers work with realtors and are any of you realtors. Just trying to get a little better idea how it works in real lifw as opposed to tv.