Home > Blogs > Michelle Finnamore > All I did was...Home Staging Success Stories

Take a photograph of existing rooms to convince a seller to stage...it works every time!

By Michelle Finnamore

Home Stager with Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket 416.928.2999

October 23, 2011 12:22 PM

Being a home stager in Vaughan can be very rewarding when working with sellers that originally cannot see the value in staging their home for sale. I explain that staging allows buyers to see that the value in the home matches the asking price. You can have the most beautiful house in the neighbourhood but unless the buyers can clearly see that value they will typically go on to look at other listings.

Staging allows buyers to see extra value in a home by creating a purpose in a room or by allowing the room to flow and appear more spacious.

All I did in this home was show the seller photographs of the existing rooms before I started staging and then after I finished staging. Her exact words were " I can't believe my rooms looked like that before, I never noticed".

It's a common reaction in buyers when they see their home staged for sale. Most people really don't see their home like others do. They come in each day and everything looks fine to them.

I'm sure if you took a picture of your own home, you might scratch your head and wonder why you never noticed how cluttered it was, how dark the room colour was, how furniture was misplaced in a room making it feel crowded or difficult to manuouver through, the drapery was crooked or the artwork was not level.

Here are a few before and after images to illustrate why professional home staging encourages buyers to look at your listing photos on line and making the decision to put your home on their must see list.

Living Room before and after

home staging in vaughan

Before and After Kitchen and Family Room

home staging in vaughan

This property was missing a great opportunity to show how you could entertain family and friends with room to spare. Renting furniture that was the correct scale for the open concept rooms was key to showcasing the space in this home.

Master bedroom and secondbedroom before and after

home staging in vaughan

I use snowboards for headboards quite often. It gives a teenage room a great look and markets the opportunity of living in the area and enjoying the outdoor attractions.

These rooms now appear much more inviting and show the lifestyle of living in the home.

Investment, minimal.

Impact, priceless.

Advantage Staging markets your property to appeal to the target market you are trying to attract. This family home is now ready for listing photos and to be seen online. Buyers can quickly see that this home is worth seeing in person.

Michelle Finnamore Advantage Staging 416.928.2999

Re-Blog

Comments(15)

Comment

Show All Comments

Sort:

Delores Campbell

Keller Williams Realty - Chesterfield - Wildwood, MO

Your St. Louis Real Estate Resource

The before and after photo's show that staging a home makes a difference. With so many properties on the market, seller's need to be the point of difference.

Oct 23, 2011 01:22 PM

Michelle Finnamore

Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON

Preparing your property for sale

HI Delores, that is a great way of explaining it to your clients. In our area, it is a very busy time for listings as buyers and sellers want to be in their new home before the holidays. Havin their property professionally staged lets their property rise to the top of the list for which home gets the buyers attention. Thank you for stopping in.

Oct 23, 2011 01:26 PM

Sally Weatherley

EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC

Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Michelle - Looking at a room through the lens of a camera really magnifies what needs to be remedied. These photos are great examples. I like the way you've added contrast with the darker furniture, as well as the proper scale. Fine work as always, Finnamore!

Oct 23, 2011 03:15 PM

Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging

Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR

"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Hi Michelle ~ You are so right when you say that sellers don't really KNOW how their house looks, until they see the photo. (I'm the same way with my own home too!) You made that family room and kitchen eating area look so inviting with the changes you made!

Oct 23, 2011 03:54 PM

Chris Smith

Re/Max Chay Realty Inc., Brokerage - New Tecumseth, ON

South Simcoe, Caledon, King, Orangeville Real Esta

Michelle, they say a picture is worth a thousand words... and on the internet, it can be worth a lot more than a thousand dollars...

Oct 23, 2011 04:00 PM

Kim Gaston

RE/MAX Advantage Realty - Colorado Springs, CO

Colorado Springs REALTOR®, CNE (719)661-6987

Hi, Michelle. Lovely work. The snowboard idea is such a great headboard alternative!

Oct 23, 2011 05:03 PM

Kathy Nielsen

http://atlantahomestaging.net - Marietta, GA

Atlanta Georgia Home Stager

I'm sure the sellers are amazed at the transformation. Nothing like photos to prove a point. Nicely done, Michelle.

Congratulations. Your home staging is being featured in the group Staging Before and After Pictures.

Kathy

Oct 24, 2011 01:08 AM

Wendy Tomm

Beyond the Walls - East St Paul, MB

CCSP, RESA-PRO, BBB - Wpg Realtors

I agree to take photos and actually allow the clients to see and understand the importance of what we home Stagers do. Nice work.

Oct 24, 2011 04:54 AM

Ginger Foust

Certified Staging Professional - Oakhurst, CA

Home Stager Oakhurst CA, Dream Interior Redesign & Staging

Love this Michelle. It's so true that people don't see what the camera sees and that includes me. Sometimes I even go back to tweek my work when I see my after shots. The camera doesn't lie and smart sellers need to use it to their advantage to let us help them. Suggested!

Oct 24, 2011 07:56 AM

Karen Otto

Home Star Staging - Plano, TX

Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

Hi Michelle, the camera picks up things that our naked eye in the room can't always detect and I always tell my clients to go back and take photos of their rooms (if they're staging themselves after a consult) and fine tune the small details that catch their eye. Great blog!

Oct 24, 2011 03:10 PM

Janet Jones

Just Your Style Interiors, LLC - Kihei, HI

Home Staging, Interior Redesign Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

Hi Michelle--great blog. You are so right that sellers don't notice what they homes look like. In fact they think they look just "fine". This is such a great way to help them "see" in a different light. Love what you did with this home. I am sure the sellers are, too.

Oct 24, 2011 05:57 PM

Michelle Finnamore

Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON

Preparing your property for sale

HI Sally, the dark wood dining room set with the artwork really made that corner feel much more inviting. The front living room with the pale yellow sofa in the morning sun room really created a feeling of happiness and a place of starting the day with a smile on your face. Thanks for stopping in!

HI Maureen, the owner was really quite taken aback when she saw the photos. The camera picks up everything and allows you to see where to edit. I'm finding that it really works to convince sellers to make the changes requrired to prep the house for sale.

Hi Chris, that's a great way of explaining it to clients. I think I will be using that with my clients. A picture is worth a thousand words, an image on line is worth a few thousand. Brilliant!!

HI Kathy, thank you for the feature!! I think this is such an important topic and will help stagers to get even more work from sellers.

HI Kim, we live in the vicinity of a few ski hills so using snowboards as headboards really markets the property to buyers that may be moving out of the main city area.

HI Wendy, taking pictures has grown my business substantially since I have started doing it. Glad you could stop in.

Hi Ginger, I take after pictures for the same reason. We need to see as well whether we have caught all the last details. I don't know why we can't see it with the naked eye but I sure do know that the camera does!

HI Karen, I suggest that to my clients that are staging the house with my recommendations in hand. They think they have done a great job but they often phone me to say how helpful it was to take a picture of what they had done to see if it really worked or not.

HI Janet, I spoke with the client yesterday. The first comment she made was how much they are loving their home since I was there last Thursday. They are really shocked at the difference staging has made to the feel of their home. Just so much more inviting.Let's hope the buyers feel it as well!

Oct 25, 2011 02:12 AM

Charlene Storozuk

Dezigner Digz - Burlington, ON

Home Stager - Burlington Ontario

Your pictures really prove that staging makes a huge difference Michelle. Great job! That's a very good idea to show homeowners photos of their home before staging.

Oct 31, 2011 05:34 AM

Michelle Finnamore

Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON

Preparing your property for sale

HI Charlene, thanks for stopping in to see this. I found that taking pictures really hits the message home with the clients that still resistant to moving extra furniture out of a room or putting away a collection. They really don't see what everyone else sees when they enter the room.

Nov 01, 2011 03:39 AM

Sharon Tara

Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH

Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

I must admit I never thought of using a snowboard as a headboard, now that is clever!

Nov 06, 2011 11:33 AM